Ascension
by TheCrazyNekoLady
Summary: Normality was such a fickle term. Right when her life settled into a happy and peaceful one, everything went down the drain. One incident after another, she realized that her journey is just beginning. (Rated T for a little coarse language.)
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: _I do not own Elsword._

* * *

 ** _Ascension_**

 **By TCNL**

* * *

 **Prologue**

* * *

 _I was not always like this._

 _I was not always this calm and unfeeling. I was not always this apathetic to the sorrow and strife of the people around me. I know how things changed, I remember things so clearly, like it just happened a while ago. There was no traumatic event or anything tragic, it was more of a gradual process. Being…_

"Hey sis, it's time for breakfast," a voice outside my door called. I sighed and closed the file.

"Alright, I'm coming," I replied and I dragged myself to the dining hall.

This house is huge, absolutely bigger than the last one we had. Father's success with the company he established made it possible for us to get this mansion. _But it seems so lonely at times_.

I sighed and went my way down the stairs. They had already started eating so I seated myself and began eating too. There were barely any conversations during meals now. Everyone is in a hurry to their schedules. As for me, I'm not even sure what I'm going to do today. _It's a Sunday. What do you do on Sundays?_

I don't know? Rot on my laptop and work out later in the day, usually.

 _We might go to church, you idiot._ I sighed again. This is going to be fantastic.

"Hey man, I have to show you this video I saw in the internet," my brother exclaimed, startling me out of my thoughts. I responded with a nod of my head. Going back to my food, I finished it up even though I never had much of an appetite to begin with.

 _Stop being so fucking depressing._ Shut up, I just happen to reflect on things today.

I put my plate on the sink and made my way back upstairs to my room. I halted when Mother spoke up.

"It's your turn to do the dishes today, don't forget." I nodded and went on my way.

"Where did we go wrong with that child?" I heard her ask Father.

 _I'm sure you know, but you're too weak to admit it to yourself._ I laughed bitterly to myself.

* * *

It turned out that we won't be going to church today because Mom and Dad has a party to attend to in the evening. They were going to shop for a gift.

I ended up taking a nap on my bed, leaving my window partly open.

The soft breeze lulled me to sleep.

* * *

 _A woman was sobbing and a man was shouting, his hands tight around the throat of the other._

 _"D-Dad! Stop! You're hurting Ma!"_

 _The woman coughed uselessly as the man didn't loosen his grip. The child ran frantically to the kitchen and took a knife in her trembling hands._

 _"Dad, stop! I'll ne'er forgive you if you kill Ma!"_

 _The man stopped and looked at the child. That angelic face, marred with a frown too serious, too old for her age._

This is almost nostalgic. Almost. I snorted.

 _"If you don't get to the car this instant, I'll make sure to throw away your books!"_

 _"But Dad, it's hard to breathe with so many people in church."_

 _"Enough with your excuses! It's all in your head!"_

Ugh.

 _A small child with an exceptional glare was being forced into a confession booth in the neighborhood church. The priest inside waited patiently. He could feel that the child was incredibly uncomfortable._

 _"Child, what ails you?"_

 _"Nothing, sir. I'm alright."_

 _"Your parents have told me about what happened yesterday. I'm sure you feel bad about hurting Andrew."_

 _"…No, sir. He was saying mean stuff to me."_

 _"Tell me what happened."_

 _"I made a deal with him. He was going to leave me alone for the whole day if I let him borrow my eraser. He said yes, but he still said mean things to me."_

 _The child glared into nothingness, eyes filled with hurt from betrayal and vengeance. Unknowingly, she was glaring straight at the priest._

 _With a frightened yelp, the priest scrambled his way out of the booth and struggled to get on his feet. The two parents outside were startled by the sudden commotion._

 _"Accursed eyes… Get away from me!"_

 _The child slowly went out of the booth with a downcast expression. She was sad. She didn't understand what she did wrong, and nobody was telling her how to make it right._

What's the point of remembering all of this? The scene in front of me blurred.

 _"Hey ugly. Let me borrow your eraser."_

 _Small hands curled into fists. "If you leave me alone for the rest of the week, I'll let you borrow my eraser. Do we have a deal?"_

 _The other child rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Just give me the eraser." She did. And this boy was just foolish to not honor what he agreed to._

 _It was almost time to go home and the kids were excited. She waited by the window for her parents to pick her up. She was already irritated that the boy didn't give back her eraser, and it didn't help that her parents were not yet there._

 _"Hah! Look at you, you're such a loner!" Her eye twitched._

 _"Hahaha, you have no friends! I bet your mom and dad don't love you, they're not coming!"_

 _"You're horrible. Say something, or I'll never give your eraser back!" The pitch of his voice rose annoyingly and the girl's patience finally broke._

 _There was a blur of movement, and then the air was filled with piercing cries of pain. The boy was on the ground crying his eye out, for the left one has a pencil shoved in it. He looked up at the little girl, his heartbeat thudded against his chest painfully. His instincts screamed for him to run away, but he was frozen in fear._

 _"You broke our deal." With that, the girl quietly left the premises, since her parents just arrived._

 _A moment later, the teacher came rushing, unbelieving of what she saw. She immediately called for paramedics. While struggling on stopping the bleeding, she asked the boy who did such a thing to him._

 _The boy couldn't speak, nor did he want to._

* * *

I stared up at the ceiling and turned on my side. An uneasy feeling started to grow in the pit of my stomach. I can't remember the last time I felt like this, but _hell_ , I'm amused.

* * *

 **A/N:** Here's a little backstory for the main character. Review, favorite, or follow if you'd like. Thanks for reading.


	2. Chapter 1: Ripples in the Water

Disclaimer: _I do not own Elsword._

* * *

 _ **Ascension**_

 **By TCNL**

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Ripples in the Water**

* * *

"Hey wake up. **Wake up** ," someone called out from above. _What the…_ I groggily opened my eyes.

"Oh hey sis. What's the fuss?" I asked as I stared up my little sister. She had a strange look on her face.

"Man, that must be some dream you were having," she mumbled as she moved away and sat down on the edge of the bed. I tilted my head a little.

"You don't remember? You were laughing when I was trying to wake you up," she deadpanned. What the flying fuck?

 _You need help._ Please.

"Must be a pleasant dream, hm?" She waggled her brows suggestively. I scoffed and pushed my blankets away. I tried to recall as much as I could from the dream that I just had.

 _That little shit. I think Andrew was his name._ Oh.

"…I was dreaming about that time when I stabbed this guy's eye out for shitting with me." I replied as I started fixing my bed.

"Bro, I think you need help," she laughed as she stretched out on my _newly fixed bed_. _Scoot your ass, brat!_

I looked her straight in the eye and replied, "No shit, woman." We had a stare-down. The next thing I know, we were laughing and clutching our stomachs. After a while, our laughter turned down to just snorts and giggles.

"Wait, why did you wake me up?" I asked. _You're just thinking that now?_

"Mom and Dad are out, so yeah. They said that they're going straight to the party after buying a present. I still don't feel safe even with the alarm system and cameras, I figured I'd feel safer with you. Get up and come play downstairs in the dining room," she explained while fixing her hair. _Aww look at her, depending on her big sis._

"Fine, fine. I'll come downstairs. Where's Sky?" I asked while putting on some more decent clothes. Sky is our beloved feline family member. His namesake is his ability to jump very high _._

"He's downstairs already. He was sunbathing last I saw him", she replied while moving to the door.

"Alright, let me grab my laptop and let's go."

I was in my usual spot, playing an online game with my sister. We were in a dungeon, trying to get new equipment for our characters. I took a sip from my water when I felt something soft brush against my leg.

"Sky," I cooed and patted my leg. The fur ball complied and leaped up to my lap, seating himself comfortably.

"Meow," he purred as he rubbed his head against my arm. I smiled down at him and scratched him under the chin. He continued to rub his head against my arm and kept on glancing up to me.

"Is something the matter?" I inquired. He wasn't usually this insistent for attention. He responded with a meow and leapt from my lap to the floor. He looked at me and flicked his tail. _Is he asking me to follow him or am I just going crazy?_ With a shrug, I stood from my chair.

"Hey sis, I'll be back," I called out to her and she acknowledged it with a simple 'okay'. I went on my way and followed Sky, leading me upstairs and into my bedroom. He looked at me and flicked his tail.

"What?" I asked. _You have to be more specific._

I swear Sky had this annoyed look in his eyes before he nudged my closet door. I'm bewildered by the whole thing, but I obeyed him and opened the door. He then proceeded to flick his tail towards _that_ side of the small space.

 _The old rusty thing I found in the basement?_ He meowed yet again and went out of my room without skipping a beat. I hurriedly closed the doors and walked briskly. _There must be a threat if Sky wanted me to bring a weapon. Tch, of course a robber would come when the parents are away. Damn it._

Sky led me back down to the kitchen and stopped by the door. He glanced at me. _Holy fuck. Okay, this is just turning into a huge clusterfuck. If I die tonight, I should at least mangle this asshole down._

Woah, chill. I breathed in and opened the door. I gripped my 'protection' in my right hand as I followed our cat. Keeping my footsteps as light as possible, I ventured into the vast garden in our backyard. _This is straight out of a horror movie._

I stopped walking.

My thoughts were also quieted when I suddenly had this foreboding feeling wash over me. My breath hitched and I gripped my weapon as hard as I could to keep myself from screaming. I felt something rub against my leg and silently sighed in relief to realize that Sky was still with me.

But the feeling of being trapped and scared shitless was still there. I gulped air as I followed him. The sight that greeted me beyond the row of roses was unexpected.

 _Alright. I just slept too much. This is just a hallucination._ Yeah.

There's a crack. In the air. Or whatever that is. A fucking crack, where you could see glowing darkness where the glass chipped off.

I poked it with the weapon I have. Something zapped me and I expected it to hurt, but it surprisingly didn't. _What was that?_ I poked the 'crack' again and felt the same warmth.

"What in the world is this?"

And the next thing I know, I was being pulled with a powerful force. Multiple sensations flooded me as I zoomed through a tunnel of colors. I struggled to stay in control of my position but as much as I hated it, I was helpless.

The last thing I got a glimpse of was… the sun? But it looked wrong, because it was shining of darkness.

I'm guessing I regained consciousness, because the next thing I know, I was flying towards the ground.

* * *

"Gah!" I yelped and tried to roll and reduce the impact I'm going to make when I land. It didn't go too well when I felt a sharp, stinging pain in my stomach. Looking down, I felt my face heat up uncontrollably as I flopped to the earth.

 _Oh shit. Kill me now, please. End this misery._

I fucking landed on the rusty-old-ass sword! Holy crap. What the hell, dude? How messy can this whole thing get? The burning shame of my humiliation prevented me from passing out for the second time. I painfully turned to my side.

Shifting my weight, I was able to sit on my heels. I froze when I looked ahead. Strange-looking people were glaring at me and this particular one readying his weapon. I leaned back in apprehension when he stepped forward.

"Who the hell are you?!" His voice exploded with authority. I couldn't help but flinch.

"Elsword! Just **what** are you doing? Can't you see she's in no condition to do anything?!" The lilac-haired girl scolded him, and he just looked more irritated.

"Knock it off, Aisha. Look at her and tell me she's not one of **them**!" He snarled as he adjusted his _swords_ in his hands. See the pun? Haha… ha… _Kill me._ I gathered whatever courage I had left and turned to talk to them. Well, to this 'Elsword' in particular.

"U-um who are you?" _Wow how intelligent, you dumb fuck. You should have answered his question first!_ I realized my mistake and dropped my head down. I grimaced when I saw the sword _still_ lodged in my stomach. I took ahold of the grip and started pulling it out.

A different voice spoke this time. "Don't! You're going to–"

 _SQUELCH._

 _Oh my God! What the fuck is wrong with you?! Now you're going to bleed all over the floor and die!_ But somehow, it did not hurt as much as I expected it to. I mean, it's still painful when I could feel the blade _sliding_ against my innards, you know?

What surprised me the most is when I finally took notice of my blood. The color was very off. It was dark, yes. In actuality, it was too dark. And it didn't have that tinge of red. It was abyssal black in color. _What the hell?_

The sword rang loudly as it fell from my hands. I couldn't find words to say.

"A demon? But we were able to close the gate already!"

"I-I'm human," I countered weakly. _Please believe me._ "I don't know how I got here, but I was just walking in our gardens and found this cracked glass that has this glow," I tried to explain. I was feeling the panic come back, as well as the exhaustion creeping up in my senses.

"You said you saw a crack?" I looked up and saw an elegant lady with… a crystal on her forehead? I was too fazed to make sense of what I'm seeing now. "Yes," I replied. Her eyes narrowed. "As recorded, you mentioned 'this cracked glass that has this glow'. The description matches this girl might have a clue where Add has gone." The others tensed up at her statement.

 _Add? Has gone? This person is obviously a part of this group. And the way they tensed, they want him back pretty bad._ And this lady was saying I might have a clue of his whereabouts. But I don't even know him! _Ugh._

"Um, Rena…" The girl with long, black hair spoke up while this 'Rena', I'm guessing, approached me. She was extremely pretty and her flowing lime-colored hair fit her well. She extended her hand, and there was a burst of light. _Is that a fairy?_

"This should be enough to stop the bleeding," she explained with a kind smile. I was a bit taken back with her kindness. I looked down at the ground and muttered, "Thank you."

"You guys shouldn't be too hard on her. If she was a demon, she would have attacked us by now, even when she's downright wounded," she sighed as she finished talking. The others looked a little placated with what she said, except for the girl with long white hair and… are those horns?

"No she wouldn't," she said and then she turned sharply to me. "Unless you're also a demon lord or in any other higher rank," she added with this glint in her eyes. Wait, she said _also_ a demon lord. She's one? "H-Hey! Just because I look like this, I'm no child!"

I raised my hands defensively. "No, no, I didn't mean it that way. You implied that I'm also a demon lord, so that means you're one, right? I never knew they existed," I finished. The shock on her face was clear but it quickly faded into irritation. "Whatever, we're not getting anything done here." I turned my gaze away from her. I noticed that I felt way better and the fairy was gone.

"Thank you, Rena. I feel better," I smiled at her. Her eyes softened.

Elsword went in front of me and bent down to my level. "You still haven't told us your name." _Too close! What the hell!_

"I-It's Aim," I cursed at my stuttering and leaned back from him. "Hey, Elsword! Stop harassing her and let's go already! We should all go back," Aisha said as she warily looked around. It gave me a perfect chance to look around my surroundings.

There was lava everywhere. And we looked like we're on cliff. It's wide enough to not make anyone nervous, but seeing the lava flow beneath was a different story. I turned my gaze behind me and saw this destroyed statue. I looked like a dragon with its mouth open. _Well half the jaw had already fallen off._

I gasped quietly.

"What is it?" Elsword asked. I pointed to the sun. "I saw it when I was being pulled," I explained. "Where exactly are we?" I asked and Elsword sighed.

"We're at the dimension in between Elrios and the demon world. We just destroyed the gate, and that where you came from," he explained. _Alright. What the fuck I'm done. I don't care anymore, but I know I have to go back home._ I struggled to get up, I picked up the sword to help me stand.

"I don't exactly know what's happening. But if you would have me, I'll help you find your friend while I find my way back home. I have to go back, my little brother and little sister are waiting for me," I finished.

"I still have my eyes on you," Elsword grunted as he stood up as well. The rest of the group, tired as they are, slowly got up and step through a glowing gate. _A portal. I wonder how it works._

I sighed and stepped through, Elsword following closely behind me.

 _Here goes._

* * *

 **A/N:** Review, favorite, or follow if you like. Thanks for reading.


	3. Chapter 2: Stranger and Stranger

_Disclaimer: I do not own Elsword._

* * *

 ** _Ascension_**

 **By TCNL**

* * *

 **Chapter 2: Stranger and Stranger**

* * *

It just started sinking into me how messed up this situation is. I was travelling with a group of magical guardians, priestesses and warriors. Warriors that defended the entire continent from a demonic invasion. _And they did mention they probably protected the whole world, due to the greatness of the threat of the Demon God._

I also took note on the fact that, I'm in an entirely different place. And I'm not talking about just a continent away. Judging from their technology, I somehow travelled back in time. But that theory got thrown away when I chatted a little more with Eve, who is apparently the queen of the robotic and humanoid species called Nasods.

Which came down to my current theory. _I'm in a different dimension._ An evidence that supports that would be the crack in space that I saw in our gardens. How did it even get there? _Man, my little sister and little brother must be worried. What if they_ did _get robbed while I'm gone? Crap. I have to find a way back, and fast._

I was nudged out of my thoughts when Ara, the lady with the long black hair, started a conversation.

"You mentioned to have siblings. How old are they?" She asked.

"Oh, um, my sister is younger than I am by five years, and my brother is younger by nine years," I replied. She looked a little perplexed at my answer. "I'm eighteen," I added. She nodded at that. "I really have to get back to them. Our parents are out for the night and they have no one looking after them."

"I understand how you feel," she said with a sad smile. I observed her and she stayed quiet. _Ah, a sensitive topic._ "If you don't mind me asking, where exactly are we headed?"

"We're going back to the village of Lanox. It's the nearest secure place for us to stop by."

"Ah," I replied.

We lapsed into silence and my thoughts began wandering. _Let's not forget I bled_ black _blood._ Like how the fuck does that happen to someone? As far as I know, I'm a human. I had a little family I grew up with. _You know that's not true. All those years, you raised yourself._ I sighed. Something is definitely wrong. I can't be a demon now can I? _The evidence is flowing through your veins._ I frowned at that.

I needed answers. And I want them now.

I cautiously approached Lu, the demon lord that confronted me earlier. Her servant Ciel glanced at me without any suspicion or malice. I inwardly sighed in relief. _I hope this is going to be easier than I think._

"Miss Lu, could you tell me more about demons?" At that, she raised her brows and sighed in consent. "Um, actually, do you know anything about why my blood was like that?" I hastily corrected.

She cleared her throat. "As far as I know, the darkness of a demon's blood depends on how powerful they are. The darker the blood, the more connected they are to the essence of the Dark El," she said. She poked her palm with a sharp nail. Droplets of midnight blue started pooling as she flexed her arm.

"You, on the other hand," she began as she grabbed my hand in a blinding speed and drew a line on my palm before I could comprehend what was happening.

Instead of seeing red, black started pooling at the center of my palm. _So… This means I am very closely connected to the essence of the Dark El?_ I frowned and smeared part of the blood from the center. It was still black in color.

"You have the darkest shade of demon blood I have encountered in the entirety of my existence. It's darker than Scar's. I can honestly compare it to the Demon God Sult's blood, but I haven't seen him bleed," she explained and sighed exaggeratedly. _What does this mean? I'm a demon? How? When? I clearly remember my childhood. I was born to human parents. Were they hiding this from me even then?_

Suddenly, there was a loud rumble resonating from the direction we came from. The place started to shake.

"Oh no…"

"Everyone! Hurry out of the cavern! **NOW!** " Elsword ordered and everyone scampered and picked up their pace instantly. I shifted the sword at my side. Rocks started to fall from the ceiling and I heard the priestesses yelp. _Shit. Aside from the red one, they're obviously not trained for this. And the other one is incapacitated._

"You're coming with me," Elsword said as he tugged me to the rear-end of the group. Crap. This place is coming down faster than I thought.

"How about Add? We haven't found him yet," Rena said. Elsword cursed under his breath. "Just go. He's strong. He'll turn up sooner or later. For now, we have to evacuate everyone," he said as we went to the back. Rena was obviously worried, but there's no helping it.

"What does… Add look like?" I asked.

"You'll recognize him right away. White, messy hair and purple eyes. Well, he has an eyepatch on his left eye," he responded. He tugged at my arm and proceeded to goad the priestesses not to fall behind. I looked up in time to see a huge debris about to fall on us.

" **NO!** " I screamed as I pushed Elsword away from our position as hard as I could. Caught by surprise, he landed a couple of feet away from me. I heard a couple of surprised gasps and screams.

The debris that I was expecting to kill me was not making me into a bloody mess on the floor.

Looking up, I saw that half of it was inside a crack in space. I felt a weight tug in my right hand. _Throw it to the other side!_ I swung my arm instinctively and saw another crack appear in a distance, followed by the chunk of concrete.

"Holy crap…" I muttered. My heart was beating hard and fast and I was gasping for breath. Elsword wasted no time and grabbed me along with the priestesses. My mind was still in overdrive on what just happened.

I had that power. Possibly, it was my power that brought me here. And it was also the same power that saved the others. _Yes. You have that power._ I should look more into this.

"…Thanks," I heard from my left side. I looked at Elsword and smiled a little. He coughed and turned away. _Did I do something wrong?_ I felt myself frown, but put my focus on getting out of here alive.

We ran and ran. I looked around and saw the remnants of what was once a great place. I could tell how finely those doors were made. Just the sheer architecture of the cavern itself is something to marvel at. After a while, we saw the entrance. I could see the people in the front get out with relief. We were almost out of here.

But of course, it wasn't that simple. Right when we were about to cross the archway, it began to crumble with the rest of the place.

 _You have your spatial ability. Use it!_ Geez, thanks. I extended my arm and willed a crack to appear right over our heads. They stood still for a moment.

"Elsword, everyone, go!" I shouted.

"But, what about you?!" He exclaimed. I shook my head.

"Just go. I can't actually move. Haha… At this rate, you will get crushed once I close the crack. So yeah," I could feel my eyes sting. _Stop crying you pussy!_ I _am_ a pussy, you fuckwit! Stop that right now!

"Just so you know, I'm grateful you guys gave me a chance." His desperate shout of denial was the last thing I saw before I pushed him outside with a wave from my hand. Right when I threw him, the crack closed and debris started falling around me. Darkness was swallowing me whole as the light from outside was blocked.

* * *

I was alive somehow.

 _I defied death many times today, huh?_ Damn. It was utterly dark. I went on finding a way deeper into the ruins, since the entrance is blocked. I used my hands to feel where I'm going. I could feel the area getting warmer. I'm sure there's another way to go outside.

I walked, or rather, _creeped_ , my way around for a while when, with all my luck, I tripped.

 _THUD!_

I tripped. _Wow, you graceful piece of sh…_ My thoughts stopped when I felt something warm underneath my hands.

"What the–" I looked down to see something faintly glowing. It looked like a pendant. Entranced by the purple glow, I traced my finger over it. There was a hum of warmth and it glowed brighter. Six small pillars of light came alive around me.

"Ungh…"

Wow. What are these? They look like mechanized weapons. That's so cool. But what do they do? They don't appear sharp. Energy must be probably conducted through them.

"Ugh, I see that you appreciate the brilliance of my Dynamos, but get off of me!" A masculine voice whined beneath me. _Huh?_

"Gah! Where the hell did you come from?!" I scrambled away from the direction of the voice. _Oh… I was sitting on him!_ I felt my face heat up from realization.

"Tch, is this even the right dimension?" I heard him murmur. _Dimension? He might know a way for me to get back home!_

"From what you said, I think it's safe to imply that you know how to travel between dimensions. Is it possible for you to travel with a person?" I asked. He hummed and stayed silent. I sighed.

"I'm Aim. I was wondering if you could assist me. We're pretty much stuck here since the cavern collapsed. I just hope Elsword and the others are alright," I said as my voice became softer at the end. I felt something rustle and he spoke up.

"Elsword and his group huh? Heh, did you meet someone named Add?" He asked. My brows furrowed.

"Add…" A pause.

"Hn?"

"What?" _Huh?_

"What?"

"I mean, Add is missing. It was Eve that stated he was gone. We weren't able to scout for him because the place started to fall apart," I explained. He chuckled. _What now?_

"Well, let's find a way to get out of here. It's filthy and dusty," he said as I felt him stand up. "Tch, I need an adequate power source to even use my Dynamos for combat. Travelling in between worlds too much was a risk," he paused. "How did you wake me up?"

I blushed at his question. _You were_ on _him, you see._ "I don't… really know. I was fascinated by the pendant on your chest and um…" I trailed off, feeling my cheeks get hotter. I scratched my cheek sheepishly. "Sorry about that."

"Do it again." _W-What?_

"I said, do whatever you were doing again. Dynamo's data indicated some energy input when you were on my person." Before I could protest, he grabbed my hand and placed it on his chest. _What the blazing fuck is with this guy just grabbing me and_ –

The pendant glowed so brightly that I had to shield my eyes for a moment. Energy hummed around us and his Dynamos grew whirred with energy. I glanced upward to see a mess of white hair and… purple eyes. But his sclera are black. He didn't have an eyepatch but his left eye is lighter in color than the other.

"You're Add," I stated.

"A pleasure to meet you, Aim," he said with an extremely satisfied expression. He stretched and looked around. "Looks like we have to bust our way through the ruins. I'd love to test the energy that you gave me."

"H-Hey, don't talk like I did something improper to you or something," I muttered. Unfortunately, he heard me. "Don't you see? **You** gave me this power. I was out of resources when you found me, but somehow, the energy that you have is compatible with what I needed. And what's more amazing, you don't even look tired after transferring this much! Hahaha! This needs to be researched on! Dynamo, collect as much data as you can!"

"Uh, you're welcome?"

"Yes, yes. I have to know the process on how you store that much energy inside you", he was still mumbling to himself. I sighed irritated, and did what I could to get his attention. I took a hold of his face and turned it to me. _Damn, I knew you had it in you!_ Shut up!

"You said you travelled in between dimensions. Did you find what you were looking for?" I asked. The look of surprise on his face was something new. And just when I thought he was going to be pissed at me for asking that, he did the opposite.

"Ah. Yes, I did," he replied as his mouth curled around the corner. Even if it was small, it was still a smile. I was amazed how serene he looked. We both seemed to realize how close our faces were and we leaned back from each other. I turned to hide my face. I'm pretty sure my cheeks were flaming of embarrassment from being that… yeah. What the hell's gotten into me?

I didn't notice that he had the same tinge on his cheeks too.

* * *

 **A/N:** Kek. Review, favorite, or follow if you like. Thanks for reading.


	4. Chapter 3: Reunion

Disclaimer: _I do not own Elsword._

* * *

 ** _Ascension_**

 **By TCNL**

* * *

 **Chapter 3: Reunion**

* * *

Add and I were aimlessly trying to find a way out. I would have used my spatial ability, but I can barely see where we were. I didn't want to risk it. I can faintly see where Add is, only because of his Dynamos. We were both clearly getting frustrated with the situation.

"So, what are your abilities?" He suddenly asked, looking at me with those eyes. I can't get over the fact that his sclera is black. I wonder how he got it?

 _Hm… To answer his question: being clumsy and getting into fucked up situations?_ "Well, from what I deduced, I can use spatial techniques. I… know how to use a sword. That's about it," I responded. His face displayed disbelief at my answer. "What's the matter?"

"That's it? There's so much you can do with spatial techniques! No matter, I'll assist you on learning how to utilize your abilities," he said. That perked my interest.

"What else can you do with spatial techniques?" I inquired.

His eyes glinted as he answered me. "I could pull gravitational fields or transport myself. You could pull things out of a different dimension too." _Pull things out of a different dimension, hm._ Would that work if I pull some light for us?

"Hey Add, I'll try something that can help us go around this place better," I said and extended my left arm.

"What are you planning?" He asked.

"I'll try to get us some lighting."

"Do you have a container for a fire, or a conductor for light?"

"Err, no not really. I can use my sword. I'm not entirely sure but I have to try. We're just tiring ourselves out and it's not productive," I replied as I formed a crack in space. I hesitantly moved my hand to reach inside it. _If I lose my hand… well, fuck._

I felt around and found something touch my fingertips. It was pleasant and warm. I pulled out my hand to see it was on fire. _Purple fire._ What dimension did I just open? And why doesn't it hurt?

"Are you **that** willing to have some light?" Add asked amusedly as he watched the fire crawl over my fingertips and onto my hand.

"It doesn't hurt," I said. The look on his face was priceless. Then he sighed and rolled his eyes. "I mean, when I touched the fire, it didn't harm me." He glanced back down at my hand.

"Could you make it bigger?" _Well._

"I'll try." I nodded and willed the flame to get bigger. It surprisingly did and the space we were in was illuminated with purple light. I saw that we were in a corridor. The ceiling caved in around the center, but thankfully, there was enough space for me to throw stuff into.

 _Heheh, I can do this._ I just noticed that two of his Dynamos are actually bigger than the rest. And they look pointy. Now are those for combat? Interesting.

I snapped out of my thoughts. "I can transfer the rubble from the entrance into the center of the chasm on the ground," I said. He stepped behind me and I could feel his warmth on my back.

"W-What are you doing?" He raised a brow down at me.

"I'll be here just in case we might get hit by fragments." _Oh._ I nodded and internally scolded myself. _Damn, I need to socialize more. I get flustered too easily. Damn video games!_

I opened my unoccupied hand and felt the energy around the floor. I created a long, wide rift enough to swallow the debris whole. Then, I opened another rift on where I will drop them.

"Kukuku… Amazing." There was no malice in his voice. It was simple and honest. _No, no stop blushing, you idiot!_ I blinked my eyes.

As soon as the process started, the earth started to shake as huge chunks of rubble fell from the rift. _Crap, I need to slow it down_. I took a deep breath and held the force in. It eased most of the tremors. Little by little, the rubble cleared and light poured in streams from outside. I felt the exhaustion creep in my senses.

"A little more," I mumbled as I held out as long as I could for the rubble to settle down to its new location. As soon as I felt the emptiness in the rift, I closed it. I nearly fell to the ground, but Add caught my arm in time.

"Thanks," I said as I grabbed my sword to support my weight. The flame still shone brightly on my left hand. I turned to him and smiled.

"Let's get out of here." The corners of his lips curled up a little.

"Yeah."

* * *

I sighed pleasantly as I felt the air outside against my skin. But damn, it's warm. I peeked a glance at Add and he was muttering a command to his dynamos.

"They said that they were heading to Lanox. Any idea where that is?" I asked as I looked around. It seems that we're near a volcano. No wonder it's warm.

"I'll use Dynamo to navigate us. For now, let's keep moving. The creatures around here are unlikely to attack after what happened." I nodded at his response. We trekked through the land for a while. The air was so warm and the wind brushed past us not too gently. I sighed.

"Blast it! Dynamo's cooling system isn't enough! That's it! We're flying!" Startled by his outburst, I looked at him and tilted my head in question. Instead of getting an answer, he strode hastily towards me and put one arm on my back and the other behind my knees. _Wait, what?_ I saw his Dynamos arrange themselves in midair and he stepped on them.

The next thing I know, we were soaring through the sky.

"Replenish my energy resources when I tell you to," he said. "Alright," I replied as I looked at the scenery before me. I couldn't contain my happiness as a full-blown smile broke out from my lips. I looked down and saw ruins of what once a temple. I let myself absorb all the details I could while staring at the relic in amazement. _Damn, why don't we have stuff like this back home?_ My mood went down a little at that thought.

I should be finding a way home.

Shaking off the negative thoughts, I focused on what was in front of me. _I'll get to it once we arrive at the village._

"Aim, now," I heard Add say. I complied and put my hand on the pendant on his chest. His Dynamos hummed pleasantly and we went through the air faster. I gaped in wonder at the place we were flying over. I swear I saw a mermaid. _Oh, look at that huge one!_ It looks like she's the one with authority over the other mermaids _._

"…Thanks," I heard from my right. I admit, I was surprised. But when I saw the constipated look on his face, I couldn't help but laugh. He turned his face away from my direction. _Aw how cute, he's pouting._

"I appreciate your effort for saying that", I said and poked his cheek.

"Shut up," he grumbled. I laughed harder. We settled down in a comfortable silence as I resumed my sightseeing. _Wait, where are Elsword and the others? I doubt that they made it back that fast on foot._

"They had the priestesses teleport them back to the village," he spoke. "H-How did you know–" _Did he just read my mind?_ "Your face says it all," he retorted. I sniffed petulantly but smiled at the end. I looked up saw that he was smirking.

I looked forward and saw a small settlement… or what was left of it. _There was practically a war, you idiot_. We flew past it and I couldn't help but feel a twinge of familiarity about the wrecked place.

Glancing down again, I saw a burnt forest. The creatures in it looked fascinating. They have traces of ember flames and yet they didn't seem affected. _Sometimes I wonder if I'm just going crazy._

"We're almost there," Add said as Lanox came into view. But damn, it didn't look like a village. It looked like a majestic forge placed on top of molten earth. It looked like a fortress for blacksmiths! I wonder if I could get this sword fixed here?

"Let's go straight into Edel's office. I presume they're there reporting to her."

I nodded wordlessly as we slowly descended. The villagers looked surprised and were eyeing Add warily. _Well, if you dress like you are death itself, of course people are going to be wary! And his eyes too._ Damn, I forgot about that.

We landed in front of a huge building with two humungous doors. _There are no guards at all. They must all be inside._ Add put me down gently, which I appreciated. I stretched a little while we went on our way in. _He's walking like he owns the place, ugh. I hope we won't attract trouble._

"Add, let me do the talking," I said. He frowned at that.

"I'm perfectly capable of–"

"I know. It's the others who might not be open minded about what happened," I rectified. He seemed to calm down and sighed.

"I should have brought something to cover my eyes," he said ruefully to himself. Shaking my head, I turned to him and said, "You don't have to. If they can look past that, then that's how you know they're real friends."

He paused at that. "Do what you want then," he grumbled.

"Thanks, Add." I smiled at him. He turned away from me.

"Hey, are you alright?" I asked as I turned his head to face me. "Y-Yeah. Let's go!" He then proceeded to hold my wrist and led me to the village leader's office. The moment we stepped foot into the hall, silence fell over the place. There were varying expressions of surprise, fear, and… happiness?

"Miss Aim! You're alive! And… Add? Is that you? Well, no matter, the others will be happy!" _Uh do I know this guy?_ Oh right. He's Lowe, one of the commanders that was with the group. Cheers resounded in the hall as they went back to celebrating. I recognized a few and smiled at them. _They made it back safely._

"Thank you, Lowe. I'm guessing Elsword and the others are reporting to the village leader?" At that, he nodded curtly. "Yes, just head this way and it's at the center of the second floor", he said as he gestured towards a staircase.

"We'll be on our way then. It's good to see that everyone is alright," I said. "You as well," he said as he gave Add and I a nod before returning to the feast. Right when we were at the office, Add burst the door open and there were collective gasps of surprise. I instinctively hid behind him. _What the hell are you doing? You're not a kid anymore!_

I looked up to see Add looking at me. _Oh right._

"Um… Hi everyone," I said as I awkwardly peeked from his back.

"A-Aim? You're alive!" Elsword exclaimed and the others said something similar. I smiled at them.

"Uh yeah. I managed to find a way around the ruins and… here's Add," I laughed sheepishly and nudged him forward.

"And who are you?" A voice sounded from the far back. _Oh dear. She's one of_ those _type of people, it's making my blood boil a little already._ I walked towards _her_ with Add in tow and introduced myself.

"A pleasure to meet you, Miss Edel. I'm Aim and I was travelling with Elsword and the others before the cavern collapsed," I began. She was about to interrupt me but I gave her a look and continued speaking. "I was able to survive and while looking for a way out, I found their other companion, Add, in the inner part of the ruins."

She sighed. "And how did you get here this quick if the priestesses were not there to teleport you back? How do I know you're not the enemy?" She asked glancing at Add. _I understand where she's coming from. But her eyes were looking for something else._

"We flew," this time, it was Add who spoke.

"Flew?" She repeated with a sour look on her face.

"Yes. Dynamo is capable of such a simple task," he added smugly. I rolled my eyes.

"She really helped us when the cavern was collapsing. Aim is the reason why most of the priestesses and warriors made it back," Elsword said. I looked at him gratefully. Edel sighed.

"Whatever. As long as she doesn't cause trouble, all of you are free to go. Go celebrate downstairs. Sebastian, where are my painkillers?" She practically dismissed us at that. One by one, the group slowly went out of her office. The older man beside her handed her a case and a glass of water.

"Go talk to them," I said and nudged him towards Chung, who was looking at Add with a questioning gaze. "Alright. What about you?" He asked with a little frown.

"Don't worry, I won't cause any trouble haha… I just need a short word with Miss Edel," I said while sheepishly scratching my cheek. He looked at me disbelievingly. "I swear, I'll behave," I pouted.

"Hurry, the others will want an explanation," he said as he turned around and strode over to Chung.

"Heheh, I won't cause _much_ trouble," I muttered under my breath with a smirk on my lips.

* * *

As soon as they got out, I closed the door gently behind me.

"What do you want?" Edel asked with an irritated tone.

"I should be the one asking you that, Miss Edel," I responded. I suppressed a smirk on how her expression changed from irritated, surprise, and then to passive. _Oh that won't do._

"What in the world are you talking about?"

"I don't like it when people play dumb with me, Miss Edel. I suggest you get straight to the point. You wanted to ask me something earlier," I said, fully facing her direction. Her expression turned grim. She turned to her butler. "Sebastian, leave us for a moment."

"Lady Edel…" He protested. But after seeing the look that Edel was giving him, the tense butler hesitantly complied. As soon as the door clicked shut, she started speaking.

"I want to know how you got here safely. And I don't want lies like _flying_ ," she spat out the last word. _The temperature was hot enough to roast someone alive if exposed for a period of time. But why is she so eager to know?_

"We were not lying. We did fly over the land. Did you perhaps… lose someone precious to it?"

"That's none of your business! Just answer the question!", she replied indignantly. _Bingo._ Geez, stop being such a jerk.

"I understand if you wanted to know for the safety of your people. I don't think that's your point. But I'll comply. Add had his mechanized weapon cool him while we were travelling. As for me, the temperature didn't bother me that much," I said.

"…The temperature didn't bother you _that much_?" The poor paper in her hand was being crumpled to death. "Fine," she spat. "I lost my father when the Fire El became unstable. I became **this** ," she hatefully said as she looked down. _I see._ "So tell me, how did _you_ withstand the temperature while my father died, trapped in the Burnt Forest with his men?" _So that's what happened._

"I honestly have no idea. But basing on what the others told me, I am a demon." Her face creased into a deadly frown. _You're not helping your situation, idiot. What's the use of telling her?_ "I'm guessing that's the reason why I was able to survive."

"A demon", she whispered distastefully.

"Not all demons are bad, Miss. I'm sure you have seen Lu and her butler. They helped protect the people," I pointed out. _Looks like this is going nowhere._ It's time to go.

"I hope my answers helped." I turned around and approached the door.

I paused.

"And Miss, if I was an enemy, none of them would have made it back. I'll take my leave." With that, I left her office.

No, no, no… Why did I do that? _Admit it. It felt great to say it._ I sighed.

* * *

I walked back downstairs and saw that the others were enjoying the food at the long table. Seeing them so carefree made me smile. But I have my own agenda. I have to find a way back home.

"Aim! Come join us!" Ah, Rena. Ever the kind person. I smiled and approached the table. However, I was cut off by Elsword, squeezing the life out of me.

"Guh!" _Boy, what a grip. Because he's Elsword and he grips a sword… Get it? Ha ha ha._ Kill me, please. I already felt myself blushing like an idiot.

"Aim! Don't you ever do that again!" He exclaimed. My expression softened as I hugged him back. "I don't regret it though…" I trailed off. We let go of each other after a few seconds. I looked around to see everybody staring at us. And Aisha was giving me an uncomfortable stare. I coughed awkwardly to the side.

It was Rena who spoke up. "Anyway, come eat with us. You too, Add," she said as she ushered us to a seat. I thanked her and stared at the food in front of me. I gulped.

"Oh man, everything looks good," I said as I took a bite of the roasted pig. I glanced at Add. He was eating with such poise that I almost envied him. _Almost_. Taking another bite, I drowned everything else around me as I thought on where I'm going to start looking for a way to get home.

If I came from the Gate of Darkness, then there must be a way going back through it. But opening one is extremely dangerous. Not to mention, if I happen to go back home but I wasn't able to close it on both sides, demons are going to start pouring out. However, there's Add. He was successful in travelling in between dimensions, wasn't he? And he was able to come back. _And he did say that he's going to help me learn more about my spatial abilities._

At the corner of my eye, I saw a piece of my steak inching slowly to Add.

"H-Hey!" He rolled his eyes.

"Heh, I was trying to get your attention but you weren't responding," he said as he ate a piece from _my steak._ He was deliberately chewing it slowly. My eye started twitching. _Why are you, you little punk-ass bitch, taking my meat?!_ My eyes darted to his plate and I snatched a delicious looking cookie. His eyes widened in disbelief. _Oh?_

I bit on the cookie gently. _Holy shit. Who made this? This is sooo good!_ I moaned in delight as I took another bite. The chocolate chips were sweet, but it had the tiniest tinge of bitterness in it. And the dough! It's soft and warm. It had a wholesome flavor that I couldn't describe. This is actually food that can make a person happy just by eating it!

"O-Oi! Ciel! Why is your nose bleeding?!" I was still holding onto the cookie when I turned to look at the commotion. Lu was fussing over Ciel who was on the ground, twitching.

"Strange. Add, are you wounded?" Eve asked as she glanced at him. He looked up in surprise. "Kh! I don't know what you're talking about!" He replied as he vigorously wiped his nose with a cloth. Raven and Rose just chuckled while the others sighed.

Unable to hold it back anymore, I laughed, clutching my stomach.

 _For now, I'll cherish this._

* * *

 **A/N:** Review, favorite, or follow if you like. Thanks for reading.


	5. Chapter 4: For the First Time

Disclaimer: _I do not own Elsword._

* * *

 _ **Ascension**_

 **By TCNL**

* * *

 **Chapter 4: For the First Time**

* * *

The next day came sooner than expected.

We were staying at a nearby inn. I was roomed together with Elesis. I was thankful it was her, because I bet it will be awkward with someone else. Well, maybe except for Rena.

Actually, I was hoping Rena was my roommate. Elesis gives me a strange feeling about her. She feels like fire that's brewing underneath. _And she was observing me quite intently last night too._ I shivered a little and curled up more under my blankets.

"Aim? Rose and the other girls are going to the hot springs. Do you want to come with us?" She asked as she came through the door.

"That actually sounds really good right now," I said, getting out of the comfort of the warm blankets. "Do I have to bring anything?" I asked.

She looked me over. "I suggest bringing your weapon with you. And some clothes to change into," she answered. _Oh crap. I don't have extra clothes with me._ I don't have money either. Crap. I didn't notice how her face softened at my inner turmoil.

"I'll help you get some new clothes. You could definitely use some." My heart stung for a moment.

"T-Thank you, Elesis," I bowed my head gratefully.

"Now, now. Let's go tell Aisha before she starts freaking out," she playfully said and proceeded to drag me along with her. I sweat-dropped as I barely had enough time to grab my sword beside the bed.

* * *

The village looked lively with all the people bustling around in the streets.

Elesis and I told the other girls that we were going to follow shortly after we picked out clothes. We were currently at an armor shop, much to my confusion.

"I thought I should bring you here, since you also use a sword," she said as we went through an aisle of armors. Oh. _But they... look too heavy._

"Hmm… Actually let's just get you a belt and a sheath," she declared as she disappeared into an another section in the store. I raised my brows and followed her.

"Aim? I found one perfect for you," she said as she handed me a thick metal belt with a matching sheath. The color was black with dark purple curling streaks as decoration. _It's very elegant. I bet it's pricey too._ "Don't worry about the price. I got it," she said as she grabbed it and went to the merchant to pay.

"H-How did you…?" I stuttered.

"You remind me of my brother," she replied with a smile. I felt my cheeks heat up a little. "Let's go to our next stop. We still have to catch up with the others." I nodded and followed her. She then led me to a clothing shop and away from the metal armors. I inwardly breathed a sigh of relief while putting the belt on.

"Hmm… Try to look for a couple of clothes that you like. Then come back and we'll decide which ones to get. Oh, and don't forget to get some underwear and boots." I flushed a little when she mentioned underwear. _Of course, unless you want to go around with no underwear? How naughty!_ Shut up!

"Alright, I'll be back in a moment," I said and went on my way.

I didn't have to search through the racks, because an outfit already caught my eye. It was a short, sleeveless black dress with a flaring bottom. It also had a mid-neck high collar. Beside it was a pair of mid-thigh cut black boots with a little heel. And it was accentuated with dark purple… _Wait. Could this and my belt have been made by the same person?_

I approached the merchant. "Excuse me, may I take a look at the one over there?" I asked as I pointed to the set. The aged lady glanced at my belt and smiled. "I see, finally! Someone with taste. Come, young lady. I will gladly show it to you."

As we approached the display, she spoke again. "You see; this outfit has been here for a long time. But not one customer spared it a second glance. Do you know why?" She said with a glint in her eye. I shook my head. "It's because the color throw people off. I made this with a demon as an inspiration." My heart stopped for a moment. _The fuck is going on? Is this just a coincidence? This is too much!_

The lady cackled. "Anyhow, enough of this old lady's stories. I would love to give it to you for free, but I have bills to pay," she said as we returned to the counter. "Who was the demon that you based this dress on?" I asked.

She paused before answering, "It was the great demoness of the Old Age. Stories depicted her as the only demon with a different pigmentation from the rest of the underworld. Hence, the purple accent I put in there." _Oh._

"Ah, one moment, I have to get some things first." I said. _Underwear, woman! Underwear!_ Ugh.

"Take your time," the aged lady responded. I got a couple of sets of underwear, with the insistence of Elesis. It didn't help that she kept on teasing me about this one set that she got me. _Ugh, end my misery._

"All done?" The aged lady inquired as we approached. "Yes. How much does everything amount to?" Elesis then whispered something in the merchant's ear. Seeing that the lady smiled and Elesis was grinning… I think that's good?

"Well, here you go young lady", she said as she handed me the goods, wrapped in a silk cloth and a red decorative ribbon. _Hm… Purple huh? I wonder why Elesis chose it for my belt? I mean it does look good, but I also saw other beautiful merchandise there. And the lady here made the clothes to go with it._

"Yeah… Why purple?" I muttered.

"It's the color of royalty, young lady." I stared up at her in realization. "Oh, um. Thank you very much. May I know your name?" She seemed surprised at what I said. But she conceded with a smile. "It's Martha, my dear," she answered.

"It's a pleasure to meet a talented seamstress like you, Martha. I am Aim. I hope to see you again soon," I said with a smile. Her eyes shone. _Damn, I'll definitely drop by again._

"What was that about?" Elesis asked when I came out of the shop.

"I just asked for her name. I really like the dress," I said while adjusting the stuff on my arm. "Thank you, Elesis. This means so much to me." I bowed my head to her.

"I-It's nothing, really! Think of it as a gift from me as your friend," she said while she waved her arms in front of her. I chuckled at her. "Still, you have my thanks. Let's go, I'm sure the others are waiting."

* * *

We arrived at the hot springs after a short walk from the village. The place was surrounded with wooden walls. It also had separate sections for men and women. _Duh._

Before going into the warm pool, Elesis and I put away our clothes and wrapped ourselves in a towel. I put my new clothes to the side, together with my sword. Ara was the first to talk to me when we went in.

"Oh, what did you get?" She asked.

"Just a couple of clothes and um a belt and sheath for my sword," I replied.

"That's nice, I want to see it when we get dressed!" She said and I laughed at her enthusiasm. "I don't mind," I said as I splashed her a little. I relaxed back and put my head on my knees. The others were chatting away and I couldn't help but feel anxious. _You should be getting home._

"Aim, are you alright?" A voice to my left asked. _Oh, it's Rose._ "Yeah I am. Sorry about that, I just spaced out," I explained. I heard her chuckle. "It's good to see that Add has opened up to someone. He always seemed so distant." I raised my brows at that.

"Yeah. He always treats himself like an outsider," Elesis said.

"I didn't know about that," I replied while I scratched my cheek. "But he was nice and considerate. And very knowledgeable when we chatted," I said as I played with the warm water.

"Rose is right. It's good that he opened up to you. Before Add disappeared, Elsword would complain how Add always sneaks glances at Eve, but he would never talk openly to her," she said with a smirk. _Oh I didn't know about this. Heh, something to tease Add with._ "Huh, where's Eve?" Elesis asked.

"She's with Moby and Remy. Something about upgrades, I think," Ara piped in. Oh right, she's a Nasod. That's actually really cool. I wonder if I could make a Nasod of my own?

"Let's go, the guys might be done already too," Rena said as she started getting out of the pool. The others followed. I was the last one to get out after Lu. Well, I could clearly see that she still doesn't trust me. I kind of gave up since I don't really have anything to prove her accusations otherwise.

I went over to a stall with a curtain to change. The underwear fit okay, but the dress fit perfectly. It was a little tight around the chest, but I'll manage. The boots were also comfortable; the cushions were perfect. I put the belt around my hip and put on the sword at my left side. After checking everything, I went back outside to the others.

"You look nice!" Rena said as she came up to me. I couldn't help but blush.

"T-Thanks," I stuttered. I heard a couple of laughter at my response. _Wow. How graceful of you._ I can't help it!

"Was Elesis the one who chose the color for you? It really fits you. It matches your eyes," she said and I froze.

"…It matches my eyes? What color are they?" I asked quietly. Rena looked at me worriedly while Elesis ushered the others outside.

"They're light lavender but when you face against the light, they look like amethysts," she replied. _It's close to what my sister said._ "I'm sorry if I'll make you uncomfortable by asking, but don't you know your eye color?"

"I…" _I don't fucking know, okay?_ I snapped out of the angry retort when I saw that she was still looking at me, expecting an answer.

"S-Sorry. I don't know what I look like," I replied meekly.

"What?! …I mean, how come?" She inquired with an incredulous look on her face. Elesis came back through the door and was looking at us with a questioning gaze. "Whoa, what's going on?"

"Aim doesn't know what she looks like! It's… I can't express it," Rena said stressfully.

"There's a mirror right here. Come," Elesis gently grabbed my hand and brought me near a dresser with a mirror on top of it. She tugged me closer but I refused.

"I think I'll be alright, um, it's okay," I protested weakly. Oh no. No. "You're not hideous if that's what you're afraid of. You're quite the opposite. Come on," she said as she lifted me by the waist and dropped me in front of the mirror. _She's strong!_

Instead of seeing Elesis alone in front of the mirror, I saw a girl in front of her. She was holding a hand to her mouth while tears were pouring out of her eyes. She had knee-length hair with the shade of snow and had lavender eyes. _Is that…? I can see! I can see myself!_ I sobbed happily as I jumped directly in front of the mirror, taking in as much details as I could. I watched in amazement as the reflection copied what I did.

"I… I can see myself. I can see myself!" I kept on saying as I vigorously wiped my eyes. I turned to Elesis and Rena and said, "Back home, I couldn't see my reflection. It freaked out my family pretty bad. When they were dressing me up, they realized they couldn't see me in the mirror. As far as I could remember, I couldn't see myself…" I couldn't stop the tears that flowed out of my eyes.

I felt warmth engulf me. Elesis and Rena were squeezing the life out of me, but I didn't mind. I returned the hug while sniffling like a child.

After a calm moment of silence, we let go of each other.

"Thanks," I said as I wiped my eyes.

"Let's go, yeah?" Elesis said and we followed her out of the bath house.

* * *

Everybody looked refreshed after the visit to the hot springs. The whole group was walking around town leisurely. Villagers greeted us as we passed by. I was looking around when I felt someone nudge my side.

"Oh, hi Add. You look good," I greeted as I took in his appearance. He coughed and turned away. I didn't notice that his cheeks were a little red. "Don't tell me you got sick just for taking a bath," I said, a grin appearing on my face.

"Tch! As if. Maybe it's you who got sick," He said as he stuffed his hand into his pockets. Gone was his high-collared armor that I first saw him in. Instead, he was wearing a white jacket with a hood, with dark outlines and thick cuffs. He kept the torso armor, seeing that the pendant on his chest was glowing faintly. He wore dark pants and armored boots.

"Heh, I can't get sick even if I tried," I replied in a snobby manner. "Of course. Fleas can't get sick after all… Kukuku," he retorted. _Oh yeah?_ "Haha, I'll just steal more of the cookies you eat," I countered. _Man, that was bad._ But I'm guessing it worked since his eye twitched.

"I'd like to see you try," he taunted. I was about to jab back when his expression turned serious. "Why were you crying?" He asked. I tensed a little at his question. "It's… nothing important."

Add kept on staring at me.

"Fine, fine," I grumbled. "I saw my reflection for the first time in my whole life. I got overwhelmed with emotions. End of story." I crossed my arms on my chest.

"You couldn't see your reflection in your home world?" He asked disbelievingly.

"No… Not really. And I want to find out why," I replied, unconsciously clenching my fists.

"Kuku… And by the way, y-you don't look half-bad yourself, Aim," he said. My eyes widened at the complement and I pouted. _Wait. Doesn't he like Eve?_ I shook off the embarrassment and asked, "Is there a nearby smith here?"

"Yes. His name Is Sdeing, he's around that corner." It was Elsword who answered. "Oh, thanks! I'll meet you guys back at the inn," I said as I rushed off. _I have to get this fixed!_

"Hey Add, you coming?" Raven's voice sounded out.

"I'll go with her; I can't pass up a chance at observing an otherworldly weapon. Kukuku," he said as he caught up to me.

I swear I heard Elsword say 'sneaky'. _Gah! What does he mean by that?!_

* * *

Add and I entered the blacksmith's shop. A huge, muscled man was organizing tools on a table. _So this is Sdeing._

"Excuse me, Sir Sdeing?" He looked up from his work with surprise. _I was raised to be a polite fuck._ I grimaced at myself. How ironic.

"Ah, you two. Adventurers, right? Or should I say heroes?" He laughed good-naturedly. Add was observing the wall intently while I felt my cheeks warm uncontrollably.

"I jest. Call me Sdeing. How can I help you today?" He greeted as he wiped his hands on a cloth.

"I was wondering if you could fix this? It's an old sword – a family heirloom," I said as I reach out the sword to him. He took it carefully and examined it. "I'll see what I can do."

"That sword. It has fluctuating energy levels," Add spoke up beside me. I tilted my head in question. "Dynamo has been reading unstable energy levels from that sword, so be careful." Sdeing nodded his head in acknowledgement.

"Alright, scram you brats! I need to focus," he said, waving us out of his shop.

"Thank you," I called out before fully closing the door.

* * *

Add brought me to a barren landscape on the outskirts of the village.

This is going to sound stupid. "Why did you bring me here?" I asked as I tugged at his sleeve. He looked at me with a deadpan expression. I stared up at him, expecting an answer, but he just kept on staring at me.

"Oh come on! Just tell me," I whined.

He rolled his eyes in response. "Tch. I did say that I was going to help you learn," he said as he took several steps of distance from me. _Huh, what is he doing?_

I gasped as he warped himself a short distance. The smirk on his face didn't go unnoticed either. "H-How did you do that?" I asked. His smirk became wider.

"I opened a rift in front of me, then I opened another at my destination," he said, like it was as simple as that. "…You have to create a pathway so you won't get lost in the rift you'll open," he added. I frowned at that. _I don't quite get it._

He suddenly faced me and disappeared. _What?! Where?_

"In other words, you have to make an entrance and an exit, before you go in." I whipped my head to look behind me. He was leaning smugly against his dynamos. _Grrr! I'll catch him one of these days._

"Go on, try it," he urged. I'm not going to lie. I'm worried. _Shit, what if I get stuck? I'll probably die because of my incapability._

"So… an entrance and an exit before going in?" I confirmed. He nodded. I faced forward and opened a rift in front of me. I opened another rift, around fifteen meters in front of me. I put my foot in and entered.

"Oi! That's–"

For a moment, I was in a void with an unearthly glow. Then after that, it was like a sensation of jumping normally while crossing a great distance. _It's like flying, you idiot._ I ignored that jibe as the familiar thrill of soaring spread through my body. The next thing I know, I was on my feet and Add was looking at me in shock.

"…too far."

I couldn't contain the excitement and I squealed like a little girl. Oh my God, I did it! A hand was on my head and I looked up to see Add himself. _Wasn't he all the way over there?_

"I did it! I did–" I was cut off when he bonked me on the head. "What was that for?!" I complained.

"Didn't you see the distance that I did?! You were supposed to follow what I was doing, especially when you're just beginning to learn!" My face uncontrollably heated up as I comprehended what he was telling me.

"I'm sorry," I murmured.

"Keh! Don't apologize to me. If you weren't able to come back, then what?" I deflated at what he said. "Tch, just… be more careful," he grumbled as he turned away from me. _Aw, he cares!_ I caught up to him and hugged him. I felt him stiffen from the contact.

"Thank you." _That means a lot_ was unsaid. I leaned my forehead on his back. He relaxed a bit before I finally released him.

"Let's go back for now." With that, I took his arm and we went back into the village.

* * *

 **A/N:** Review, favorite, or follow if you like. Thanks for reading.


	6. Chapter 5: Through Time

Disclaimer: _I do not own Elsword._

* * *

 _ **Ascension**_

 **By TCNL**

* * *

 **Chapter 5: Through Time**

* * *

Before the day ended, I was able to receive my sword back from Sdeing. Much to my displeasure, Add paid for his services. But then again, I don't have money in their currency.

Sleep was elusive to me that night. I stared up the ceiling while listening to the ticking sound of the wall clock. Elesis was fast asleep, as I could hear her shallow and even breathing. _Of all the times to find it hard to fall asleep._ I sighed quietly as I sat up.

I moved as quietly as possible and wore my boots. Picking up my sword, I stole one last glance at Elesis before leaving the room. _Thankfully, I didn't disturb her._

Walking down a familiar path, I soon found myself at the clearing where Add taught me how to warp myself. Closing my eyes, I breathed deeply to help myself focus. I'm going to work on my speed on opening the pathway, since going through it isn't much of a problem.

...

I lost count how many times I practiced. Feeling more comfortable warping, I tried increasing the distance. I slowly increased it from five meters. I was a little out of breath while doing my eleventh warping. The distance I set was around fifteen meters.

 _Open, pass through._ I landed on the ground with a soft thud. Not bad I guess. _Heh, why don't we turn it up?_ I repeated the process at a much higher speed. I didn't notice I was smiling in glee as I felt myself fly through the rifts I made.

 _Whee!_

Losing count on the repetition, I stopped and landed on my knees. I was wheezing a little when I was trying to take more air into my lungs. _Who knew this could be so much fun?_ I laughed at that thought. Brushing off the dust on my dress, I stood up and took my sword from its sheath.

I opened a tiny rift and ignited my left hand. Gripping my sword at my right, I passed the flame over it. _Someone's here!_ I gasped as I turned around to see who it was.

"…Add? How did you know I was here?" I asked while scratching my cheek.

"Dynamo was picking up on spatial energy fluctuations," he responded as he used his Dynamos as a chair. _That's pretty neat._

"I don't mean to be rude, but what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be sleeping?"

"Keh. I'll just observe you. As for sleeping, it's a waste of time," he responded. I raised a brow at his answer. "And I have to make sure you don't kill yourself." I pouted at that.

"Ah, anyway. I'm just experimenting", I said as I turned back to the clearing. I passed the flame over the sword again.

…

Nothing's happening. _Argh!_ My only theory is that the sword does not have any special property to hold an accompanying element. _Of course it doesn't, you dimwit! We found that in the freakin' basement! It was rotting there!_ I sighed. If I intend to use it as a magic blade, then the input of magic should be continuous, if it can't be channeled. But how the hell do I do that?

I glanced at Add and saw that he was looking at me. I quickly turned away to hide my oncoming blush. _Focus!_

I lit up my left hand again. _I'm not even sure what kind of flame this is._ If I channel the flame through the blade, it might even melt if I can't control the flame properly. I adjusted my grip on the sword. The purple glow faded as I distinguished the flame.

Not wanting to drop the sword, I carefully moved my forefinger and ignited my hand. I saw the handle on fire and panicked.

"No, no, no! Argh!" I cursed as I tried to find a way to put out the fire from the handle and _into_ the blade. I summoned another bout of flame hurriedly and blasted it.

 _FWOOSH!_

I stared in amazement as the purple flame illuminated the sky for a second. Damn. How do I keep it on the blade? _You need more control. Imagine what you could do!_ Heheh, that's right. I'm not giving up now!

I re-adjusted my grip and repeated the process. This time, I kept my forefinger on the blade and opened a miniscule rift for the flame. _That's much better._ I swung the sword once, twice, then three times.

"Yes!" I couldn't help myself and laughed in glee. "Alright, let's dance!" I said as I fell into a familiar stance and moved myself into a glide of steel and flames.

Swinging the sword down, I widened my stance and thrust the sword forward. I heard the roar of the flames and the singing of the blade. _More!_ I recovered the sword and swung it sideways, as if cutting off someone's head. I pivoted on my heel and swung around once more and struck down.

I distinguished the flame and fell on my knees, and the sword dug into the dirt. My body sagged under exhaustion and I couldn't stop my hand from sliding down the blade. I winced.

"Ugh, crap…" I muttered as I peeked at my bloody hand. _Well, black blood._ I heard footsteps come from behind me. Instinctively, I hid my hand from Add's sight.

"You're wounded," Add said as he approached.

"It's… alright, I'll manage," I replied as I tried my best to hide my hand. I heard him click his tongue before grabbing my bloody limb.

"Hm? This is the first time I'm seeing someone bleed like this," he said nonchalantly. _He's surprisingly okay with it. Should I be worried?_ "I don't really care."

"But the others…"

"Are not me. I don't care. Just wrap it up before the blood stains your dress further." With that, he tossed me a bandage. _Why would he have a bandage on him in the middle of the night?_

"I expected that something like this would happen," he said with a smirk while sitting on his Dynamos. I gaped at him. "And besides, you didn't have to go through that much trouble to hide your hand. I could see your blood on the sword." _This… This punk-ass little_ –

I flushed uncontrollably at his words. Then after a moment I broke out into laughter.

"Oh well, I guess it's time to go back."

* * *

The next day went on. Artea, the Earth Priestess, was recovering pretty well. There was another feast by the village hall and I just opted to stay at the inn.

I recalled something weird that happened earlier too. I was chatting with Eve about her Nasod companions. They were brilliant and not even the technology back home could compare. After that, I was going to ask Elesis if she was busy. I wanted some advice on how to improve my swordsmanship.

But then, she snapped at me and told me she was busy. I asked if I did something wrong, but she just waved me off and left.

And so here I am, isolating myself while thinking on what I was going to work on tonight. I was planning on refining my capability with the fire, instead of just applying it on my sword. And my spatial skills too. _What skills?_ I let out a sigh and turned on my side.

 _Damn it, my mind is too active for me to stay put right now._

A low humming caught my attention. Glancing at the direction where it was coming from, I saw that it was my sword. _What?_ I frowned and took it into my hands. It kept on humming and it was freaking me out a little.

I went on my way to the clearing outside the village. I could see the steady glow of the volcano and the constant warmth of the breeze. Glancing at my sword, I held it out in front of me. It was still humming and I tried holding it tighter to stop the vibrations. I let out a yelp when it suddenly glowed and symbols started appearing all over the blade.

"What the hell…"

Not finishing my sentence, I was knocked off my feet as an unknown force slammed into me. "Ugh," I groaned as I picked myself up. The humming was gone, but the blade was still glowing purple. _So many purple things are related to you._ No kidding.

"What's happening?" I whispered as I dusted myself off.

"I'm also wondering myself." I whipped my head around in surprise. Huh, Elesis? What is she doing out here? I thought she was at the celebration.

She suddenly poised herself and attacked me.

I gasped in surprise as I tried to fend off her attacks. "W-Why?" I asked, raising my sword in time to block her.

"You are a demon; I cannot let you live any longer." She spoke in a hateful voice. Something is wrong. This isn't like her. _How sure are you?_ I frowned at that thought. _Maybe they were just tricking you so they could kill you!_ I shook my head. I refused to believe that everything was just a farce.

"Elesis, please stop!" I pleaded as she continued to attack. Each blow was getting harder and harder to parry. I frantically looked around but there was nobody I could ask help from. _Move! She's going to kill you for real!_

She zoomed in dangerously at me and I barely had enough time and strength to lift up my sword to block her. My arms shook with strain.

"Elesis, why?" I pleaded weakly. She just looked at me with such a frightening expression. _Fight back. You're going to die._ I narrowly stepped back in time and saw a couple of strands of white hair flutter to the ground.

"You're not going to fight me properly? Then stay still and die," she said as she raised her claymore to finish me. _No, no, no!_ I freaked out and lighted up my sword to parry the attack. For a moment, she had a smug expression on her face and it changed into a mad smile.

"You're finally showing your true colors?"

"Aim? Sis? What are you doing?" The fight was paused for a moment when Elsword spoke. And he wasn't alone. The rest of the group was with him. "We felt the energy level rise," Rena added. I just noticed that they were all armed. They must have thought there was a threat that Elesis, herself, had to attend to. _No duh, you're the threat._ Now's not the time for this!

"Please, stop her," I said with a pleading look. Please. I don't want to hurt my friend.

She swung at me again and I heard shouts of protest. Elesis relentlessly rained down blow after blow. I tried blocking, but the last one knocked me off my feet and threw my sword out of my grasp. Black blood flew as my arm was cut open.

Things happened too fast.

I stared at her in shock as I saw her blade bury itself onto my chest. I barely registered anything in my mind as she pulled the claymore and poised herself to strike again. The triumphant expression on her face faded as I saw Aisha behind her. I could barely hear anything when I realized I was falling on the ground.

The sky was its usual dark with a tinge of red in it. I was suddenly seeing a familiar face.

"…ose the wound!" _Huh?_ I blinked my eyes as I tried making sense of what they were saying. The moment I had focus, the pain fully hit me as I gasped for breath.

 _It hurts! It hurts! Stop! Make it stop!_

"She's losing too much blood," Rena said as tears were gathering in the corner of her eyes.

"Aim! Hang on, we're going to find a way." Was that Aisha? I thought she didn't like me.

"M-make it stop, p-please," I gasped. I could feel the air painfully pass through my chest. I realized I was being held by Add, due to the light shade of hair and I could hear his short, quick breathing.

"I-I'm sure Dynamo has information. I'm sure there's something. There must be something, anything," he said as he frantically moved his eyes, as if he was looking at something in front of him.

"Add," Rena murmured worriedly.

It was beginning to feel cold, as cold as a night during winter. It was one of those nights that I slept underneath two blankets with just a tank top and my undies. I mentally laughed at myself. I was actually looking forward to a lot of things. I could faintly hear my little sister and little brother complaining that I was taking too long to come home.

"…I'm sorry."

Everything dimmed out.

* * *

" _It's time to wake up."_

Huh?

" _You've been sleeping for too long. Do you even remember who you are?"_

I'm pretty sure I know who I am. But who are you?

" _Then you still don't remember. It's sad that it had to come to this. I was hoping I would remember in less extreme circumstances."_

What? Remember what? You're not making any sense.

" _Everything will make sense soon. See? The chains are undone."_

At what seemed to be at the center of the abyss, there was an enormous crystal. It was glowing darkly, with remnants of broken metal chains around it.

" _Go back now. Everything will get better."_

* * *

Add stared down at her in horror. _It was like back then. He was helpless, and now he was still helpless._

"No," he couldn't accept it. He didn't even know her for too long. Only for a few days even. But she made a difference. He was able to find closure when he found his younger self and had a chat with the child. _You should smile more, mister! You have the same smile like Mom when she reads me a book!_

And she found him in the ruins. He wasn't stupid. He already had a theory that he was able to get back because there was a sudden disruption in the spatial path he was travelling on. It was an unexpected factor, but it changed his pathway from going back to the same alternate reality. It brought him home. It was also the time when she appeared right when the Gate of Darkness closed.

He never told her, but he owed her a lot more than helping him get out of the ruins.

And now, he watched helplessly. Elesis was too fast. He froze as he saw the sword pierce through her heart, and memories of his family dying and his home burning replayed themselves. He came back shortly out of his thoughts when a thud resonated through the area.

The silence was deafening as he approached her, taking her upper body onto his lap. Rena was saying something, but he was too focused.

"I-I'm sure Dynamo has information. I'm sure there's something. There must be something, anything." He can't give up. Not now. Not when he made it back. He has an insurmountable knowledge that he acquired throughout his travels. There must be data somewhere that could help her.

"…I'm sorry." It was so soft. He barely heard it. He almost refused to acknowledge it. Acknowledging it would be admitting she's gone. And that he failed. He had so much knowledge and power at his disposal, but what good would it do?

Her eyes stared blankly at the sky. Her blood was pouring out less. Her chest stopped rising and falling.

"No," he pleaded. _It was like back then._

"Add, we should," Rena gulped. "We should take her back to the village… and give her a proper burial," she finished, wiping her eyes with her sleeve.

"W-why did it turn out like this?" Aisha questioned, her bottom lip trembling. Raven was deathly silent and was staring off into a direction. Rose had a curt expression, her posture extremely tense.

"Ciel, she and Elesis. They were friends right? But now," she trailed off. Ciel put his hand on her shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze. He would never betray her.

"Sis…" Elsword clenched his fists. "It was because of the Dark El she absorbed to survive. But I never thought this would happen," he said ruefully. Eve said nothing as she stood guard by the unconscious form of Elesis.

Add was dangerously silent. A million thoughts were running around his head and he was already formulating a plan to make everything okay.

"If I have to go back through time to save her, I'll do it again," he said as his eyes hardened with determination. "I'll do it. I don't care, I will succeed this time." The others were staring at him in shock. He didn't share that one bit when he told them what happened. They all thought he just ended up in a different location on the continent. But then again, he was vague with the details.

"She begged her to stop. She didn't want to hurt her," he said as he glared at Elesis. Elsword unconsciously inched towards his sister. It was his first time seeing Add genuinely angry. Add turned back to staring at what's left of her. They couldn't see his eyes as his hair curtained them.

* * *

Drip.

Drip drip.

 _Huh, is it raining?_ _Did I fall asleep outside?_

Flashes of what seemed like memories flooded my senses. I groaned as I tried to make sense of the information that I was suddenly given. I was suddenly watching a scene, as if I was watching a movie.

" _The Dark El isn't necessarily evil. It the essence of the underworld. It's the people on the surface who can barely stand the power, since it is vastly different from theirs. They lose their rational thought, going mad over the struggle to hone power that wasn't meant for them," a royal-looking lady said. Her soft white tresses flowed down her legs. Two majestic horns curved on the side of her head and protruded upwards in an elegant manner. Her dark purple dress, cut very low on the back, exposing the beginning of her tail._

 _In front of her was another demon. A male, specifically. He stood dutifully as he listened to her._

" _I dream of a world where humans won't see us as a threat."_

 _The male demon scoffed at that. "Our nature itself goes against theirs."_

 _A sad sigh escaped her. "I cannot deny that."_

Light flashed and the scenery changed.

" _Is something the matter, General?" The lady asked as her right-hand man stormed through the throne room._

" _The humans! They are waging war on the surface. The battlefield is the continent of Solus. It is dying as we speak." A frown marred her features._

" _We cannot let this happen. If that much landmass is going to lay barren, it will certainly upset the balance of the realms. I need to have a word with Ishmael."_

 _The demon general protested. "We cannot waste any more time, your highness. We must stop the conflict immediately."_

" _I don't think we should interfere immediately. I must inform Ishmael before we step into her realm."_

" _We must fight to destroy those who try to upset the balance!" He snarled at her. Her eyes gleamed as she stared down at the general._

" _Remember whom you are speaking to. We will await Ishmael's approval before we step foot into the material realm." With that, she went back to her paperwork._

 _The general clenched his fists tightly._

Lights flashed again.

" _It would have been a lot easier if Brother was here. I fear that the General is becoming more violent lately. Shouldn't you be at the temple?" A sigh resonated through the library._

" _My lady, nothing new is happening at the temple. I am simply bored." A man was on the same table as she was. He was reading some ancient scripts._

" _How is dear Brother doing?"_

" _Lord Henir is still reconstructing the temple. He is still experimenting with the spatial and time distortions," he replied. How typical of her brother._

Lights flashed and the atmosphere was entirely different from the last one _._

" _Your kindness and order are not what we need! We are demons! And look where your kindness put you. Today is the day the Underworld will be at its peak and our prowess in battle will be recognized throughout the realms!"_

 _The lady was bleeding as she was severely wounded by none other than the General._

" _Do remember this General. I am someone_ loved _by our people. I took care of them like any mother would do for her child. People will not follow you. Once the word spread that you have betrayed me, this realm will turn against you," she rasped and struck the general at lightning speed. She sliced him from his shoulder, down to his stomach. But it wasn't enough to finish him off. She fell on her knees, her abyssal blood pooling around her._

" _We will see about that. After all, they don't have to know that I'm acting on my own," he sneered, clutching at his wound and turning to leave. He locked the throne room. Not a moment later, the space shifted and the same man from the library emerged._

" _Lady Haborym, who did this to you?"_

" _The general. Glave, I do not have much time. I will be resting in a secluded place. Wait for my return in the material realm. I'm sure you will find something to do there." She smiled weakly as Glave reverently nodded in response. Lady Haborym vanished down the floor through a spatial crack._

There was another flash.

" _I do not even have enough strength to find a proper vessel," Haborym cursed as she descended down from a crack in the sky. As miniscule as it is, she found traces of a very young spirit vanishing. Seeing it was her only chance at survival, she took it and resided in the small, empty body of a presumably stillborn child._

 _The shock of the incompatibility of her soul and the body blanked out her memories. The pain made her wail and the doctors were shocked. They happily presented the child that was miraculously brought back to life._

" _Mister and Missus Blackwell, we have good news," the doctor said as he strode forward, with a crying infant in his arms. Said man and woman had tears of joy in their eyes as they cooed over the baby._

" _We're naming her Aim. Aim Blackwell," the woman said as she stroked the cheek of the baby with astounding gentleness._

* * *

I opened my eyes to see Add. He was… crying? _Why? I feel like I should be the one crying._ I chuckled at my poor attempt on wiping his cheek.

"Aim! Y-You're alive?" He stared down at me like he couldn't believe it. He quickly swiped his hand over his eyes.

"You can't get rid of me yet," I joked as I sat up. I clutched at my chest, surprised to find that the wound was closing.

"You're glowing," Add observed. I glanced at myself and indeed, I was glowing with purple light. Feeling extremely light, I pretty much surprised everyone when I stood up and picked up my sword. I turned to them and bowed.

"I'm sorry for all of this. I know you are very confused right now. I will explain everything once things have calmed down." I winced as the glowing intensified and I felt power flow through me. Hearing a couple of gasps after the light faded, I observed the changes as my body reverted back to as it was thousands of years ago.

My nails turned into petite claws and they were black in color. _Yay, no more putting on nail polish._ I mentally rolled my eyes. My clothes were mended with the energy of the Dark El. I reached up and felt my thick horns sticking out proudly from my head. My tail was twitching side to side as a dark aura flitted around me.

"I'll explain everything in the morning. For now, we should rest. What happened was not very pleasant," I said as I unconsciously put my hand over my chest. "Please, I promise we will talk tomorrow." Everybody agreed and Elsword picked up his sister and we all went back to the inn. Rena was kind enough to let me have my own room.

We all went to our rooms to rest, but not before I tackled Add into a hug.

 _You cried for me._

* * *

 **A/N:** Fluff. Review, favorite or follow if you like. Thanks for reading.


	7. Chapter 6: Lady Haborym

Disclaimer: _I do not own Elsword._

* * *

 _ **Ascension**_

 **By TCNL**

* * *

 **Chapter 6: Lady Haborym**

* * *

Before the day started, I was already up and about. I sneaked into my old room with Elesis. I took back the Dark El that lingered with her soul and left before she woke up. I smiled softly as I saw her body slowly relax with the absence of the Dark El.

She has such vengeance against demons. The general, no, the traitor has made insurmountable mistakes.

I sighed as I fixed my hair around my horns. I wonder who's up this early? _I don't really know. After last night? I doubt anyone could sleep well._ Shrugging, I grabbed my sword with me and stepped through the door. I could hear a couple of people downstairs.

"Oh, good morning," I greeted as I saw Add seated in a table, eating breakfast.

"'Morning," he replied before sipping on his coffee.

"Everybody else is asleep," I said as I grabbed a sugar-sprinkled bread. _Ironically, I don't need to eat but this bread tastes good as fu…_

"You're making a weird face." I coughed awkwardly and chewed on my food. I leaned back on the chair and stared at the streets outside. At the corner of my eye, I could see Add staring at me. _Is there something on my face? Crap, my hair is probably a mess again._

"Is everything okay?" I inquired as I turned to face him. He was a little red when he faced the other way. Oh, so he _does_ get flustered. _You're no better!_ Shut up. Is it because of my horns? Or my tail?

I sighed.

"Does my appearance bother you that much?" I asked. He cleared his throat and shook his head.

"No, not at all. It's just, uh, your horns and um, tail. They suit you," he said as he busied himself with his food. I smiled widely. Honestly, I'm relieved. The human part of me was still conscious about my appearance. _Lies! You're just mindful of what_ he _thinks about you!_ It's sad and funny that my own mind is driving me insane.

"T-Thanks." I chuckled while scratching my cheek. I finished my bread and stood up. He glanced at me questioningly and I smiled a little.

"I'll just visit Martha. She's the dressmaker that I got acquainted with when uh, Elesis got me new clothes," I explained. I wonder if she still detests me for being a demon?

"Just be back before dinner. We will all be at the village hall by then," he reminded me. I nodded and left the inn. I nearly forgot that the village is celebrating the achievement of peace in Elrios for seven days. _They sure know how to party._ Food was never scarce during the feasts.

Finding my way around the streets, I entered Martha's shop. She looked up at me in surprise.

"Good morning, I hope I'm not bothering you," I said.

"…Miss Aim?" She looked confused.

I scratched my cheek sheepishly. "Do I really look that different? And yes, it's me, Aim."

"T-Then," she began. _Oh man, I hope she isn't going to go screaming for help._

"I have fully regained my power back. I just wanted to chat before things get really busy again." At this, she agreed, albeit nervously. Grabbing a stool, I sat in front of her by the counter.

"You're the great demoness…"

"I'm not sure how you've heard of the story. I never ventured much to the material world before I vanished," I said as I leaned a little on my elbow. Martha slowly regained her composure.

"I first heard the story during the days of my youth. It was from a masked man that was visiting the village," she began, a small smile tugging at her lips. "I just tagged along with my mother in managing the shop. As a child, I have always been curious. I've read a lot about demons before, but I have never seen one. When I saw the masked man, I had to ask if he was one." She chuckled at the end.

"Apparently, I amused him enough and he told me of the underworld. He told me of a great demoness that governed over the world below. He shared how she stood out among the other demons and was kind to everyone. That baffled me the most. The demons in the books were gruesome-looking and cruel." I chuckled at that.

"Of course, we aren't entirely understood by humans."

"I agree. That's why I spent more time bothering the masked man. He took a liking to the village and stayed for a couple of years. Word started spreading about him. After all, even with the mask, people could tell he hasn't aged a day. A few days after the rumors escalated, he disappeared and never came back."

 _A masked man that did not age. That sounds like someone I know._

"Life went on and I held onto the stories I heard as a child. I made that dress with the best materials I could find and it has been on the shelf for a long time. People were unsettled by the color. As you can see, not many wear such dark colors. Especially a foreboding combination," she chuckled by the end. I couldn't help but smile a little.

We ended up chatting for a while and I ended up giving her a rose-shaped dark crystal for her to break if she ever needed me. I was feeling a little too generous.

That will probably bite me when the time comes.

* * *

It was not even noontime when I went out of Martha's shop. I was going to wander around the village but I changed my mind when I recalled what Martha said about the masked man. The masked man that left probably because word started spreading that he hasn't aged one bit.

 _That awfully sounds like Glave._

I went to the outskirts of the Burnt Forest and sought out his aura. Eyes closed, I spread my energy thinly and I kept on expanding it, hoping to find him.

I waited.

And waited.

My eyes snapped open when I felt a response. It was weak but I felt the twinge of muted surprise. It came from the direction of the entrance to the volcanic canyon. If I remember correctly, that's also where the ruins of the Temple of Fire lay. _What the hell would he be doing there?_ I rolled my eyes and solidified my aura on my back, turning it into wings. Dust picked up as I took off with enough force to launch me into the sky.

I breathed a sigh of excitement and wonder as I looked down. _Right, now get back to what we're supposed to be doing!_ I blinked and zoomed through the warm sky.

Not too long after flying in the same direction, my eyes zeroed-in on figure with snow-hued hair that was emphasized by a dark ankle-length coat. _Ha! Found you!_ I smirked and flew on top of Glave's location, just to drop on him at a neck breaking speed. I saw his eye widen for a split-second before he barely dodged.

"It seems that you're still in shape, Glave," I greeted as I straightened myself out.

"Lady Haborym. A pleasant surprise," he responded. His eye softened a little when he said it. _Aw, he missed me!_ I grinned widely and attacked him with a hug. He awkwardly patted me on the back.

"I didn't… expect that," he admitted as I let go of him.

"Well, well. I did say for you to wait for me here in the material world."

"You could have been more specific. I have searched a long time and I ended up watching over a couple of weaklings," he grumbled. _Oh. Could he be talking about Elsword and the others?_

"How long has it been? I'm sure the flow of time here differs than that of the world I landed myself into," I said. He paused for a moment before talking again.

"It has been more than half a century, my lady."

"It has been too long. How are our people?" I asked, my heart clenching.

"They didn't cooperate with the traitor. But some had no choice for he started threatening the women and children." _How dare he!_ I frowned deeply at that.

"But you don't have to worry about him anymore, my lady. The adventurers dealt with him," Glave said. Raising my brow, I asked him what he meant. "He planned on taking over Elrios since our people gave him a very hard time."

I smirked at that. "And he thought humans were weaker than us, so he resorted on conquering the material world instead. How ironic." I paused. "How about our men that were forced to do his bidding?"

"They were all killed, my lady." I felt rage build up in me. How could he? "However, he has two loyal subordinates that are still alive," he mentioned.

"What are their names?"

"Jin and In. Hm, and it seems that they are on their way to the broken altar." Tch. Of course, they would seek to seek revenge on Elrios after their master's plan failed and got him killed. I turned to the direction of the ruins of the cavern.

"Accompany me, Glave. We have some children to scold," I said and gathered up my energy.

"I will meet you there, my lady," he said as he vanished.

* * *

I met up with Glave at the entrance of the ruins. I was getting more and more irritated as I felt a portion of an aura being moved deeper into the ruins.

Using my spatial magic, I transported us right into the center of the ruins.

I saw numerous demons scattered all over the place.

"It seems that they also have summoned distraction, just in case that the adventurers get here," Glave said. I gulped down air, trying to control the rage that was still building up.

The demons' attention was all on us. _Good._

"Everyone, go back home." There were sounds of protests. I flared my aura.

" **Go. Home.** The general is no more and there is absolutely no reason for you to throw away your life," I said, walking towards the room of the broken altar.

"It's the Queen…" Said a voice to my right.

"It's good to see someone still recognized me."

I put my hand on the shoulder of the male demon. "I will make everything right. I promise you. Now go! You do not have to follow Jin and In. I will make sure they are punished properly." With that, I opened a crack in space and linked it to the underworld.

"You heard the Queen! Let's go home," the demon said and the others followed with relief in their faces and posture. I closed the crack once all them went through.

"You're still an astounding leader," Glave said. I rolled my eyes at that.

"At least something interesting will be happening," he murmured. I blasted through the altar room, getting all the debris out of the way. The surprised faces of Jin and In came into view as Glave and I strode towards the altar.

"Please do tell me why you're doing this," I stated. I glanced at the aura that they lured. _This aura feels familiar._

"Who are you?! You have no right to interfere!" In exclaimed. I chuckled at that. The female, Jin, elbowed him hard.

"You have no power in our realm. Not anymore. Master told us about you," she said. I rolled my eyes.

"Your _master_ is scum."

"H-How dare you!" In threw the dark aura in rage at me.

"In, no!"

 _Big mistake._ I absorbed it. I wanted to laugh at the situation.

"Let me explain things to you, _children_ ," I began and flared my aura dangerously. They stepped back instinctively.

"The Demon God, Sult, never existed." They were outraged at that statement. "He never existed. Sult is my familiar. He was the colossal beast that guarded the palace. Too bad, it seems that your _master_ didn't even enlighten you with the truth." I was in front of them in a blink of an eye and my palms on their foreheads. I gathered up my magic and streamed through their memories.

 _They killed the children of the families that refused to cooperate. They killed parents in front of their children and raised the children to be soldiers in fear. They enjoyed it._ I've seen enough. No wonder that barely any of them recognized me from before.

"Glave, if you please," I said and dropped the two in front of him.

"Ah yes, they will be fine additions to the temple," he said as his eye gleamed. The two screamed in fright as they vanished into the cubes at Glave's palm.

"Now that's done, let's return to Lanox."

"Lanox, my lady?"

"It won't matter since you're with me," I said and lightly pushed him to the entrance of the ruins.

He sighed and I chuckled a little.

* * *

I cursed as I noticed the sun slowly setting. Glave and I ended up talking about what happened over the years. And it seemed that my brother is still all cooped up in the temple. _It's understandable, since he already withdrew from the affairs of the realms_.

I ended up flying back to Lanox and Glave waited for me by the outskirts of the burnt forest. From there, we walked towards the village hall. I found it amusing that people glanced twice at Glave. I opened the doors and entered. I saw the whole group already beginning to eat.

"Aim, welcome back."

"Good to see you, Rena," I replied I took a seat by the end of the table, with Glave right behind me.

"It's you!" Elsword said as he pointed a finger at Glave accusingly. Wait, what?

"Ah, I see that all you weaklings are alive," he said. There was the tiniest hint of smile on his face.

"Why you!" Aisha held back Elsword by holding him on the collar. "Elsword," she hissed. "Not now!"

I noticed that Elesis was at the opposite far end of the group. She was just looking down and poking at her food.

"I might as well tell the story now."

"My original name is Haborym, Queen of the World Below." I mentally cringed at the word 'queen'. "Before I became queen, my brother was the ruler of the demonic realm. After quite a while, he withdrew from the affairs of the realms and passed the throne to me. I have been ruling since then.

"More than half a century ago, I vanished from our realm. I was betrayed by my most trusted general. I was severely wounded and I needed to recover somewhere safe. I asked Glave to wait for me to come back in the material world when I have enough strength. However, I didn't realize it would take me that long. A direct blow to the heart was more than enough to put a demon to death. I guess I was strong enough to live after that, but I barely survived in the process.

"I landed myself in another world. When I was descending, I saw the spirit of an infant fading. I took the chance to settle my soul there, since I had no other choice. I became Aim Blackwell. When Sult was being summoned, it triggered some of my magic and opened a crack in space."

"Why would that trigger a part of your magic?" Asked Aisha.

"Because he is my familiar. _Was_. He guarded the palace back then. I'm guessing the general caged him when I vanished," I replied. Lu's brows were furrowed with a frown.

"By general, do you mean General Scar?" She asked. Unpleasant memories of his betrayal started pouring in, but I snapped out of it before it got out of hand.

"Yes. Glave here told me that you have dealt with him. You have my sincerest thanks. I just wish I was the one who dealt his end," I said and breathed deeply. "I would… have to say goodbye to my siblings, before I have myself some peace in mind to re-organize the workings of my home realm. It has been greatly corrupted by the traitor, Scar."

"Man, that's depressing," Elsword blurted out.

 _THWACK!_

"Ow! What was that for?!"

"That's for being rude, you moron!" Aisha was fuming. _These two._ I couldn't help but chuckle at them.

"Once I'm done with my personal matters, I'll be happy to assist you if you ever need it," I said before taking a bite from my plate. We ate in a solemn silence and went back to our rooms to retire for the night.

* * *

I stared up at the bland ceiling of my room as I waited for the next day to arrive. There has been a lot on my mind. And I need to go back to my siblings as soon as possible, since there are a lot of things to fix in the underworld.

And before we all went back to our respective rooms, Ara asked me if I could talk to her brother. Ran was his name, I think. It will be easy, since he is a commander.

I sighed again and rolled to my side.

"Argh," I groaned. _I can't sleep at all!_

Will my little sister and little brother hate me when I leave? _This is why you can't sleep, idiot. You keep on picturing what would happen when you go back!_ I just can't help but think of it. I know how to get back, but I don't really know how to deal with the situation that comes with it. It sucks.

I laid down for who knows how long, recalling everything that my siblings and I did together. Especially all the mess we landed ourselves in. And how mad our parents were when we destroyed the kitchen. Or how we set up a slide from the second floor down to the pool.

 _I'm going to miss them._

Pain clenched at my heart as the morning sun colored the sky.

* * *

 **A/N:** Elsword's temper is just priceless.


End file.
